


Someone I Trust

by TheGeekySquirrel



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Ace is a Great Friend, Best Friends, Big Brother 2D, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Now with 33 Percent More PowerPuff Girls!, Secret Relationship, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 11:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15971798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGeekySquirrel/pseuds/TheGeekySquirrel
Summary: I just wanted to get a bunch of creepy dicks off my back. But, I don't think I mind where I ended up.based onthis post





	1. First Mistake

“Hi, I’m Noodle, guitarist of the Gorillaz!” I said as cheerfully as I could. The interviewer gave me a pleased smile and moved on to the man to my right. 2D gave his own cheerful hello as I felt the weight of the beginning of our interview float off my chest. Even after being in this industry for twenty years, I still felt nervous every time we started talking to some relative stranger. The bassist to my left leaned in to whisper in my ear. 

 

“You alright, babe?”

 

I was smiling and nodding before I knew it. Murdoc was great and all, but having Ace in the band was so much more fun. He was such a great friend, even if I could do without having someone being so clingy. At least he made up for the clinginess with good laughter and decent food. If I sighed thinking about that, it must’ve gone unnoticed. But really, Ace has a knack for cooking! He’d only started showing it off recently, but already the entire band has been eating better. I closed my eyes as I remembered the taste of the quiche he’d served to us just that morning and-

 

“Miss Noodle, thinking of a special someone over there?”

 

The voice of our interviewer snapped me out of my daydreaming prematurely. I gave him a bit of a sheepish smile, ignoring the curious looks of my bandmates. I chirped right back at them,“What do you mean?”

 

“There’s been rumors that you’ve had a certain special someone in your life recently. Can we go ahead and confirm those rumors?” the man asked with a chuckle. I was thrown back a bit; the only ‘special someone’ in my life was my cat! Why would anyone think differently? It’s not like I actively called someone in my life a pet name or anything. I looked over at the interviewer, but his eyes weren’t on me. They were shifted just to my left. 

 

Oh no.

 

I looked over to find Ace squashing his signature sunglasses against his face. Was he blushing? I couldn’t quite tell, but it was obvious that he knew the implications of the question. I didn’t need to look at the other two to know they’d gotten it too- well, maybe, considering 2D’s memory issues and just general lack of implied intelligence. Already a few seconds had ticked by, if any more time ran away we’d be in trouble. I had to think fast. So, I said the first thing that came to mind, “I don’t quite get your drift, sir. Could you clarify?”

 

The look on the interviewer’s face was totally worth the awkward amount of time it took for me to think of a reply. He cleared his throat and started smoothly explaining. 

 

“Well, um, certain people have been saying you’ve been having an affair of the heart in the past few months. Who’s the lucky guy?”

 

“Why do you wanna know?” Russel butted in. For once I was glad he’d interrupted me before I could get started. Our interviewer grew redder- odd, I thought he was a human, not a cranberry- and began sputtering. 

 

“Well, I, uh, i-it’s not for me! It’s for the- oh, um,  _ oh _ , the people at home! I’m sure they’re just, uh, just  _ bursting _ with curiosity! Everyone wants to know the name of the lucky man who’s got her heart.”

 

“Odd,” 2D said absentmindedly, “I thought you liked  _ girls _ , Noodle. I ain’t heard anything about a  _ guy _ , have you been keepin’ secrets from us? For shame, love, I thought we was done with all that bullshit.”

 

I shook my head at my brother, “No, I’m not keeping secrets again. There’s no guy in my life right now besides Katsu, I promise.”

 

“And this Katsu? What’s he like?”

 

God, this interviewer was a predator. I made a mental note to never talk to him again as I addressed the man, “My _cat_ is very sweet and fluffy, sir. Now, shall we move on?”

 

* * *

* * *

 

“ _ Shall we move on _ !” Ace shouted as he howled with laughter later on. I sat next to him on the couch, laughing just as hard. Even if the rest of the interview had been rather robotic, it was so worth it for the embarrassment on that man’s face. Katsu jumped into my bestie’s lap with a small ‘meow’ and was greeted with a scratch underneath his chin. 

 

“God, that guy was fucking pathetic! ‘ _ It’s for the people at home. _ ’ Like they give a shit!”

 

Ace’s laughter died down a bit as he wiped away tears, “Well, I mean, yo’ fans might give a shit. They’re the one that’re always callin’ you their  _ wife _ and hot as hell and all that.”

 

“Bubba, they’d still call me their wife even if I  _ did  _ have a boyfriend God, I hate how he kept insisting it had to be a  _ dude _ though. Like, I think I’ve made it clear by now that I like everyone, right? Have I not made that clear enough?”

 

“Babe, if you wanted to make that any clearer, you’d have to post pics of you kissin’ a girl on your insta,” he teased. I shoved him away with my foot, reaching with my arms to grab the pack of cigarettes off the end table. Just as I was able to bring them back around, a certain pianist’s fingers snatched the box away. 

 

“Thanks, Noods.”

 

“Fuck off, 2D.”

 

His laughter was a bit muffled, so I threw a pillow at my brother. 

 

“Outside! If you give Katsu cancer, I’ll kill your whole family!”

 

Our singer probably shut the door a bit too hard, but, according to Ace’s newfound laughter, his expression was pretty funny. I just leaned back again and let out a groan, “God, I shouldn’t’ve been so aggressive with him. He’s gonna start a whole new  _ chain _ of people asking me if I’m single. This is gonna fucking  _ suck _ .” 

 

“Well, why don’t you pretend? Make ‘em happy.”

 

Just as I had gotten settled in, I was sitting up again to look at Ace, “What you mean like, faking a relationship?”

 

He shrugged as he crossed his arms, “Yeah. Buttercup an’ one of her buddies kinda faked something a while back. I mean, she never ouright  _ said _ they were datin’, but someone she kinda knows spread a rumor they were. It annoyed her ‘til she figured out it made people stop askin’ ‘bout her love life. They were such good buddies that they agreed to not say anything to the contrary until one of ‘em was ready to date.”

 

“And that worked for her?”

 

“Yeah, she just started seein’ this gal about six months back, so they ain’t doin’ it anymore, but it worked really well for them for as long as they did it. You should try doin’ something like that, as long as it’s with someone you trust.”

 

He settled down as thoughts buzzed through my mind. It wasn’t like I’d never heard of people doing something like that, but it’d never occurred to me that  _ I _ could do that. I mean, if it worked for Buttercup, it was sure to work for me. Problem was, I can count the number of people I trust on one hand. One of them was a cat, two of them were like family to me, and the fourth was sitting right next to me. If I was gonna do this, I didn’t really have much of a choice. 

 

At least I really trusted him. 

 

“Hey Ace?”

 

“Yeah, babe?”

 

“You wanna fake date me?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Huh. That was easy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know I've got another multi-chapter fic I haven't updated in over a month. Yes I know I'm mostly bullshitting here & probably won't do much more for this. Do you think I fucking care? It's cute so far & a great stress relief. My marshmallow heart is in love with this couple & I'm ready to write more.


	2. Too Easy

It was, really easy, to be totally honest. I just sat there, a little stunned at Ace’s immediate agreement. 

 

“Really? You’re sure about this?”

 

He leaned over and kissed my forehead, “Of course, doll, you’re my best friend. I’d do anything for you. So, how’s about we get the word out, eh? Wanna take a couple’a pics for your Instagram, show them how totally in love we are?”

 

Ace rounded off his question with a wink that I’d have mistaken for flirtatious if I hadn’t known it was a product of the situation. I handed him my phone as I snuggled up into his side. He put his arm around me an- hot damn, that’s his fucking bicep?! What the fuck has he been doing to it, it felt amazing. It wasn’t too hard or anything like that, but I could still feel the muscles against my body as he drew me in. I’d never had anyone hold me like this before and it was better than I thought it’d be. I wrapped my own arms around his neck as I murmured against his cheek. 

 

“This is so weird, dude.”

 

My best friend burst into laughter, nearly dropping my phone in the process. I shouted in alarm at the sight of my beloved device nearly taking a tumble. That’s what I think drew the other band members into the room. 

 

“Noodle, what the fuck?” 

 

I felt myself get drawn closer to the body next to me as I looked at the others. Russel actually seemed genuinely surprised for once and 2D had his mouth gaping open. Ace weakly chuckled underneath me. 

 

“It’s to protect her?”

 

2D was the first to snap out of his shock. He turned back into the slightly grumpy being I’ve come to know him as in the past few months, “How th’ ‘ell are you protecting  _ my _ little sister by  _ fucking  _ her? Get your hands off ‘er, you nasty pervert!”

 

We both held our hands up at that. Russel turned around too as he put his own hands up. “Woah, Stu, we don’t know that they’re doing that! Fuck, man, what the hell is with you?”

 

Our singer motioned vaguely to the two of us. I hadn’t noticed the cigarette in his hand until now, but it shook wildly as he spoke, “It’s obvious, Russel, look at them! When was th’ last time you saw two  _ friends _ holdin’ each ova like tha’?”

 

“2D, listen to us, we’re not sleeping together,” I finally spoke up. He shot me a nasty glare and growled out, “Don’t bullshit me. Ah bet you’ve been sleepin’ wiff him this whole time, ‘aven’t you? Why didn’ you juss  _ tell us _ , Noodle?”

 

“First off, all I’m doin’ is holdin’ her. If anyone’s the perv here, it’s you, buddy. Second, youse gotta listen to us. We ain’t doing anything nasty, but it’s kinda good you two see it that way. Seems we’re more convincin’ than I thought, babe.” Ace gave me a great big grin. I slapped his shoulder as I harshly whispered back, “Not helping.”

 

Russel looked at us for a few more seconds, then pinched the bridge of his nose, “Oh my god, I know what y’all are doing. God, has it really gotten to that point?”

 

“Russel, d’ya mind cluin’ me in?”

 

Our drummer looked at 2D with obvious exhaustion in his eyes, “They’re makin’ people think they’re an item to get people off their backs. This is a bad idea, you two, it’s only gonna make people askin’ about your love lives worse. It never works.”

 

“Worked for an old friend from Townsville. Why wouldn’t it work for us? It’s not like we’re gonna fall in love or anything,” Ace said with a shrug. I finally settled back into him as I nodded my agreement, “Yeah, we’re just good friends, guys. There’s no way this can go wrong.”

 

Both of them were quiet for a good long while. Then, our singer sighed and shrugged. 

 

“As long as it stops th’ questions ‘bout you two  _ and _ you don’ really hop into bed togeva, ah fink ’s a great idea. Juss keep yourselves focused on what really matters, okay? ’S all about th’ music,” 2D said. That wasn’t any more like my brother, but I bit back a response as I nodded at him. 2D grabbed his headphones from a side table as he left the room. My gaze refixed itself to where my other band member stood when the front door shut harder than 2D would ever usually let it. Russel had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. 

 

“You guys sure you’re good? You’ve got all  _ this _ under control?”

 

Ace loosened his grip on me and chuckled, “There’s no  _ way _ , Russ. Doncha trust me?”

 

“No offense, but I don’t trust green fucks too much anymore,” Russel said with an eye roll, “What  _ are _ y’all doin’ anyways? You can’t get word out today, you literally  _ just _ struck those rumors.”

 

I sat up, pulling away further, even if I really didn’t want to- seriously, how was being held by him so nice- and shrugged. 

 

“I was actually thinking about taking him out and letting the paparazzi leak it for us, then we could put out some photos afterwards to confirm it. If anyone asks questions, we can just say Ace and I were looking to keep it wrapped up for a bit longer. Does that sound good to you, bubba?”

 

I looked over at my best friend to find him staring at me with this cute little smile on this face. A twin of it appeared on my own face as I waved my hand in front of his eyes. 

 

“Hello, earth to Ace?”

 

He blinked twice and his grin grew into embarrassment, “Yeah, I’m here. That sounds great, baby, I’m totally pumped to be your fake beau.”

 

I snorted and shoved him to the other side of the couch, “Okay, boo, we’ll go out on Tuesday, then. Give you time to talk to your boys and me time to talk to,  _ you know _ .”

 

He leaned his head back with a groan that Russel mimicked as our drummer left. Ace looked back up, “Do you  _ have _ to? Can’t we just fuck with the guy for a while, make him think we’re really goin’ at it?”

 

“You know him, Ace. He’d go batshit if he thought I was dating you. No, I’ll call him tomorrow and then you can make me forget about him the day after, m’kay?”

 

Ace sighed and shook his head, “Okay, Noodle. As long as you’re happy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, I know, but this one kept giving me trouble. Idk, maybe I'm just a bad writer or something. Anyways, next chapter's gonna bring _you know_ into the game, so be on the lookout for that!


	3. Rang Three Times

It wasn’t a great night. I had a dream- well, more like a bad nightmare. I was on a hill I felt like I should’ve recognized and there was this huge graveyard in front of me. My mind kept saying my family was in there, but I didn’t- I couldn’t believe it. Suddenly, I was in that graveyard, standing in a circle of twenty-two graves. The names on the stones hurt to read, but my eyes took them all in. A ghost for each grave, all of them far too small, faded into existence- or maybe they were already there, I couldn’t remember. They taunted me in languages I wish I couldn’t understand, and then 2D- or perhaps it was Murdoc, it was almost like they were one in the same- he was there.

 

I tried to wrap my arms around him, but I couldn’t touch him. He brought a hand up to my cheek though, then stuck a needle into my arm, telling me it was for my own good, that it would all be over soon. I could smell fire and feel his hands on my shoulders, shaking me, as he screamed at me, _this is for your own good, you’ll be with them, wake up, wake up Noodle, WA-_

 

“-ke up, Noodle!”

 

My eyes snapped open as I scrambled away from hands on my shoulders. Panic threw me towards my sword, but I didn’t have time to unsheath it before my closest friend’s voice reached my mind. I turned around to find Ace still bent over my bed mat, his hands held up so I could see that they were empty. Light from the streetlamps illuminated his concerned eyes that pierced through my terror. My whole body froze as I looked from any sign of insincerity in him. By the time he’d broken our eye contact, the reality of the situation had fallen onto me like a heavy blanket. Ace lowered his arms but kept them open for me. I didn’t realize how much I was shaking until I fell into them. Tears stung at the corners of my tightly-shut eyes and dry sobs ripped themselves from my throat roughly. The only things that kept me grounded were two hands firmly holding me against my best friend’s warm body. His usually gruff voice told me I was okay, and I believed it.

 

Bit by bit, the blaring alarms in my mind calmed until all that was left was the sound of cars passing and the laughter of drunken idiots from the street. Ace’s steady heart was beating right next to my ear. Before I realized it, I got closer and pressed my ear against his chest to listen to its unceasing thumping. I could hear him take in a sharp breath as I moved. His hands pulled away from my back a bit, causing me to whimper for a moment.

 

“ _Noodle_ ," he breathed out quietly. I gripped at his shirt tighter, “Don’t go, please, _please_. Don’t leave me. I need you.”

 

Those stable hands pressed right back into their spots and I felt Ace curl around me a bit. Under my ear, his heart quickened its pace. Mine followed suit, though I had no idea why. I could hear him swallowing and opening his mouth from my spot.

 

“I… Are you okay, babe?”

 

The concerned words echoed through his chest, calming me further. I finally opened my eyes as I pulled away. His hands slipped away until they landed on my hands. Memories of accusing faces floated behind my eyes, threatened to force tears out of my eyes. He slipped his fingers between mine and squeezed gently. It pushed back those faces and I began explaining myself. Ace listened to every detail of the dream carefully, squeezing whenever I choked on panic or my voice wavered even a little. As I talked to him, the neon street lights were replaced with soft sunlight. Ace’s features became softer with every moment, until I could see every inch of his face in the light of the new day. My fear was gone by then, replaced with something I could never put into words.

 

“That really sounds like shit, Noodle. I’m sorry.”

 

I looked at him, really looked at him, for a minute. He watched me right back with something soft that rarely flashed through those bloodshot eyes. My mouth opened, but just as it did, his phone started ringing. Ace pulled a hand away, a bit hesitant, so he could pull it out. He glanced at the screen and tossed the device onto my pillow without answering.

 

“Who is that?” I asked before I could stop myself. My best friend shrugged and put his hand on top of the one it had held a moment before, “Just the boys. They can wait. You’re more important.”

 

I pulled back both my hands, as much as I didn’t want to. His followed after me with a confused hurt being written on his face at the sudden loss of contact. A sigh was repressed and I gave him back his shrug, “It’s okay, bubba. I’m better now. You go talk to your boys. You’ve gotta tell them about our thing anyways, and I oughta figure out when I can talk to our pickle anyways.”

 

Ace hesitated a bit, but he nodded and picked up his phone. Katsu wandered in as he walked out. My little baby came over to meow at me immediately, putting a smile on my face. I ran a hand over his soft back fondly as I cooed at him.

 

“Aw, have I not given you any attention yet today, Kattsie-darling? I’m sorry. Big bad mister Acey stole all my attention. You wanna get breakfast, huh Kattsie?” I let out a sharp laugh when he nipped affectionately at my hand. “Okay, breakfast it is.”

 

I picked him up and carried the furball into the kitchen. Russel was already there, head down on the counter by the coffee machine. Katsu jumped out of my arms when I opened them for him, then I leaned over to kiss the back of the drummer’s head. He groaned a bit despite the soft smile that formed on his face.

 

“Mornin’, baby girl. You sleep well?”

 

“Yeah, I slept great! Thanks for asking, big guy,” the lie slipped easily out of my mouth. I hated how natural it sounded, but I suppose that’s what happens after being dishonest for so long. Russel didn’t try to talk to me again while I fed my pet, luckily for me. Our singer wandered in as I poured a bowl of cereal for myself, looking worse for wear than I did. He stole the cup of coffee from Russel’s hand and took a long sip as soon as he came in, then let out an even longer sigh.

 

“Oh, tha’s the good stuff.”

 

Russel took back the mug before he lightly punched 2D, jokingly grumbling, “Get your own coffee, dick.”

 

The other of my boys pulled down his own light blue mug and filled it up as I went to the fridge. The milk was passed between us as he grabbed the bread down from a cupboard. Our movements around the kitchen were fluid, just as they’d been every day since we’d moved in. 2D placed two pieces of slightly burnt toast in my bowl as I slid out of the kitchen- hey, he was getting better. My phone ended up taunting me from the side of my spot when I ate. It took everything in me to keep my eyes off of it. As soon as the last bite was down, my hands were dialing the number for Wormwood and pressing it to my ear. My bandmates came into the room, so I took it outside. The phone rang three times before anyone picked it up. The person on the other side greeted me cheerfully.

 

“Hi, I’m wondering when we can call prisoners.”

 

“Actually, that opened up about five minutes ago. Who are you looking to speak to, miss?”

 

I took closed my eyes and wrapped an arm around myself. Who knew England could be so chilly in mid-July? His name slipped out of my lips alongside his number. The person put me on hold while they connected me with him. I only had to wait five minutes before it clicked again.

 

“Hello? Who is this?”

 

His familiar voice was almost comforting to me. Almost.

 

I put up my cheeriest tune as I chirped out to him, “Good morning, Murdoc.”

 

“Noodle…” he breathed out into my ear, “Satan, you _really_ haven’t been sleeping well, girl. Didja call just to tell little ol' Uncle Muds all about it? I ain’t gonna be against listenin’ to ya, but you gotta help me get oughta here.”

 

He carried on, but the phone slipped away from my head a bit as I let out a low chuckle. Even so far apart, he could see right through me. I brought my device back up to hear the end of a rant on how innocent he was. My words cut right through his, “As fascinating as this is, I’m fine now. I need to tell you about something real quick. Ace and I were talking and-”

 

“Aw, good old Ace, how’s he doing? It’s always great to have a man on the inside.”

 

“He’s fine, what do you _mean_ , a man on the in- never mind, I don’t wanna know. Look, you’re probably gonna hear soon that some people caught us on a date, but it won’t be what it sounds like, it-”

 

“You’re dating him? Are you shitting me?!” Murdoc hollered. I had to pull the phone away from my ear a bit, so I brought up my volume to keep talking to him, “No, god no, he’s just a friend. I’m just trying to get the media off my back about my love life. This is just the easiest way. I promise, nothing’s going on between us.”

 

He was silent for a few minutes. Eventually, I heard him let out a heavy sigh; he was probably rubbing his temple, like he always does when he thinks one of us is being stupid. I didn’t care, I just wanted this over with.

 

“It’s not the easiest way, though. Ain’t he too old for you anyways?”

 

“Murdoc, I’m twenty-seven. I think I can make my choices in life.”

 

“Why’re you doin’ this, Noodle? You gotta have somethin’ for him if you really wanna give this a shot.”

 

I thought back to how I’d felt when Ace had held me after I woke up. “No, there’s nothing there. If that’s all, I’ve got a busy day ahead of me, so-”

 

“One more question, love. Why did you tell me about this? You could’ve just let me rot in here all pissed about you datin’  _my_ temp bassist.”

 

I couldn’t answer that question. A quiet goodbye slipped out of my mouth and I hung up. I went back inside, leaving the truth hanging in the cool morning air. God, I needed a cigarette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This seems as good a time as any to leave a quick reminder that I'm always open to tagging triggers warnings if any of y'all need that. Just shoot me a message on Tumblr or leave a comment here & I'll get back to you as soon as I possibly can.  
> That being said, _gosh, I wonder what the truth Noodle couldn't say was_
> 
> Next chapter's gonna be the first biggie, _**The Date**_. Stay tuned!


	4. For Better or Worse

The rest of that day was, well, more of the same stuff I’ve grown used to after twenty years. If I spent a little too much time practicing or broke a string on my guitar from how hard I strummed that day, and the next, really, well, my boys have learned not to say anything. Ace knocked on my door two days after the call, while I was attempting to make my thoughts go away without music. As soon as he came in, I noticed the bass he held a little too close to his body.

 

“The others are out,” he said in the place of a greeting. I nodded and got out a guitar. My amp crackled to life as Ace turned it on. My green eyes trailed over to his careful hands running themselves over the top of it. I imagined seeing those skilled fingers wrapped around my waist in tabloid pictures. It was hard to believe that would be my truth just a few weeks from now. The sight of him disappeared as my eyes slipped closed. His first note came through the amp clearer than most things were to me. I strummed my own guitar in time with his, searching a bit for the melody or the rhythm or _something goddammit._

 

It didn’t have to find it, though. Ace’s skilled playing brought in the melody for me, becoming a series of notes I recognized right off the bat. A shaky laugh somehow wiggled its way out of my throat. Despite the tears beginning to form in the corners of my eyes, I sang the words I knew so well- they _were_ from our biggest hit ever, after all. My voice called for that windmill as old memories I tried to forget made circles around my head again. I knew I was crying when Ace stopped playing, but I didn’t stop singing. Those words I’d written so long ago- was it already over a decade ago- only stopped falling out when a hand landed on my shoulder.

 

“Enough, Noodle,” he gently commanded me. Like a fool, I compiled and collapsed out of the chair. My best friend caught me in his arms as sobs racked my body. It was almost like I could _feel_ the fire, begging for my body to be its kindling, singeing my shoes and leaving holes in that stupid striped shirt. If I’d have known that would be one of my last days on Earth for a while after that- if I’d have known parachuting off that island would send me on a one-way trip to Hell I wouldn’t be back from for over a year, I wouldn’t have worn it.

 

“Noodle, talk to me, babe. Please.”

 

“I…” my voice sounded too rough- when did I stop crying, I didn’t even remember. “I miss my dad. I miss him so much, Ace, _fuck_ , it hurts.”

 

I felt too young to be this old. My best friend sighed as he ran a hand through my hair. He carefully chased away the stray tears still slipping out of my eyes with his gentle hands and gentler whispers. When did he get so good at this? After what felt like hours, I finally brought my sorrow under control. Ace pressed a kiss to my head and said against my hair, “No more practice today, then. Let’s go out, just you and me, huh? We could go try that place Russel’s been talkin’ ‘bout. The one with the really good pot roast?”

 

“I- yeah, that sounds good. Let’s go,” I told him. My eyes still stung as I pulled out of his embrace to stand on my own two feet. An apology started to spill out of my mouth, but Ace held up his hand, “Don’t. You’re one o’ mine, babe, an’ I take care of mine. You getcha things together, I’m gonna go put up my bass. See you downstairs in a few, ‘kay?”

 

That apology still hung on the tip of my tongue; I swallowed it down and nodded. He smiled at me before slipping out with his guitar. It’d be pretty normal, except I’d never gotten goosebumps from one of his “infamous grins” before. It was like he’d chilled me down to the bone with something I couldn’t put a name to. I rubbed those bumps away as I checked the pockets of my jacket. Phone, keys, wallet- everything I needed was in there. Except- I sniffed my shirt and grimaced- no, I needed a shower too. Ace would have to wait a few more minutes.

 

He was already doing too much for me though. I couldn’t help but rush through it as quickly as possible. Once I was done, the mirror told me I still looked like a bit of a mess, so I put on just a bit of makeup. Our manager would kill me if pictures of me looking like a trash panda went viral again. That reminded me, I still needed to tell him about it. I shrugged to my reflection. Tomorrow, for sure. Today I was going out with my friend Ace.

 

I pulled on a pair of jeans, the first shirt I saw, my converse, and my jacket before heading downstairs. Ace was waiting for me by the door, talking to someone on the phone. As soon as he saw me, he stopped whatever story he was telling.

 

“Oh, she just came down the stairs. I’ll call you later, Arty, say hi to your cat for me. Love ya.”

 

He put the phone away and whistled at me, “Wow, is it hot in here or is it just you? Why’re you so dressed up? I thought it was just a casual place.”

 

A laugh I didn’t know I needed found its way out of my mouth as I grabbed his elbow.

 

“It’s a casual place, but I was thinking this could be our date if we get caught. Better sooner rather than later, right?”

 

He let out what I could only describe as a nervous laugh and followed me out the front door, “I guess you’re right. I mean, it ain’t a date, but if we get caught…”

 

I stifled a laugh as we got to the car. The ride to the place was… far quieter than I thought it should be. I wanted to break the tension between us so badly, but there just wasn’t a good time to say anything. We rode in silence all the way to the place, then started talking again as soon as we got out.

 

“It looks nice.”

 

Ace looked over the building and nodded, then looked across the street. He waved me around the car so he could put a hand on the small of my back. I’m proud to say I didn’t jump at all as he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “There’s some paps over there. Think they mighta followed us from the house.”

 

I looked across the street to confirm. Two people with cameras got out of a dark blue car I’d seen following us before. Yeah, those were paparazzi alright. I put a hand on Ace’s jaw and leaned up to kiss his cheek. As I did, I breathed out against his skin, “Better give them a show, then, bubba.”

 

Ace’s breath hitched for a second. His hand didn’t move as we walked inside. We were seated rather quickly- thank god we’d gotten here after the lunch rush had died down- and soon left alone with two menus. One glance told me exactly what I was getting. I set down the menu in favor of looking at my friend. He was staring at me with a bit of a dopey look on his face but looked down as soon as he was caught. This time I laughed. He looked back up, this time a little red. When he spoke, he sounded a bit more flustered than usual, “What’s so funny, babe?”

 

“I’m sorry,” I said, without really meaning it at all, “You’re just so _weird_. I love it.”

 

Ace tilted his glasses down- man, I forget how much I love his eyes- to wink at me, though a bit of red still dusted his cheeks.

 

“So I can’t look at a pretty lady?”

 

It was my turn to blush a bit. The tone he used there was almost exclusively used for whatever guy or girl had caught his attention for a bit from their crushing on him. Honestly, I didn’t know if he actually used that kind of talk when he was dating someone. I didn’t even know if he’d ever…

 

“Hey, Ace?” I quietly called out. My best friend hummed, and I asked without really thinking, “Have you have dated someone before?”

 

“Oh yeah, a couple of people. Johnny, Cindy, a stint with a guy named Tuss, and a few fans of the old show who wanted to sleep with a villain but kinda got too close. Why do you ask?”

 

Well, that was more than I thought it would be. Honestly, I hadn’t expected anything like that. Ace leaned forward a bit and rested his head on his hands, “You don’t got much experience with datin’, do ya?”

 

If I was doing this with anyone else, I would’ve denied it completely. But I _wasn’t_ doing this with someone else. I was doing this with Ace.

 

“No, not really. This is kinda my third date ever.”

 

My best friend raised an eyebrow and gave a sleazy grin, “So, am I gonna be one lucky fella tonight?”

 

I burst into laughter, definitely interrupting the older ladies sitting in a booth to our left. As much as I knew he was trying not to, Ace chuckled with me. Somewhere on my laughing, my hand fell onto the table quietly. His laughter died down as he took my hand. It was almost too natural for me to stop laughing and grin at him. He leaned forward and let out a whisper that shouldn’t have made my heart speed up.

 

“We should kiss if you really wanna give the paps a show. Ain’t no better confirmation than that.”

 

He was right, of course. I said _fuck it_ to everything in my mind telling me not to, which was much less than I thought there would be, and leaned forward just as the bell above the door jingled.

 

Two simultaneous gasps were followed by twin snaps and the sound of people leaving quickly. Guess there was no backing out of it now. As far as the public was soon to know, Noodle of the Gorillaz was dating their temporary bassist, for better or worse.

 

I kinda liked the sound of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _rises from the dead_ Whatup gaymers, it's me, a fkn dumbass. I don't have much to say about this chapter except I can't write dates for shit, so uhhhhh, random fact time! Did you know that the oldest cat video on YouTube was filmed in 1894? How cool, right?
> 
> Next chapter's gonna be Noodle dealing with the aftermath of this, so stay tuned!


	5. Plead the Fifth

It took three days for the pictures to get out. Our publicist and our manager were both up in arms over it when I told them. The former actually put her head in her hands when she found out and mumbled about how I was the good one who never got in trouble. But, all in all, those two got over it pretty quickly. At least, Damon did and talked to our publicist about it until she wasn’t so broken up over it anymore. Nevertheless, the pictures started coming out three days after the date. Damon emailed me them as soon as they came out.

 

And that’s where I sat all day, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram as I pointedly ignored that email. A heavy tapping pulled my attention away from the cat video I’d been staring at for the past few minutes. Russel waited until I came to open the door myself, as he always did. The look on his face told me this was going to be a serious conversation, whether I liked it or not. He had his arms crossed and my beloved pet sitting on his shoulders. Katsu mewed as soon as he saw me, then jumped into my arms. It made me laugh, but Russel didn’t say a word. I moved out of his way.

 

“We don’t need to talk about this. I’m fine.”

 

“Yeah, but we’re gonna,” he said as he came into the room. I noticed his usual dark circles had lightened up a bit- good, he more than deserved the rest. Russel turned his chair around before he sat down in it, putting his head on top of his arms. I rolled my eyes and took the other chair. Katsu settled down in my lap quickly- he really was such a cutie. Russel started talking as I pet the little darling.

 

“Have you seen the pictures yet?”

 

I didn’t respond. My bandmate sighed, “Okay, tell me why you haven’t looked at ‘em yet.”

 

“It’s weird. He’s my _best_ friend.”

 

“You have to look at ‘em, baby girl. Even if you don’t look at them now, they’re gonna show up again later. Would you rather the first time you see them be here where you feel safe, or some TV studio where everyone’s watching your reaction?”

 

He had a point. I was careful not to disturb Katsu as I grabbed my phone and pulled up the email. The link took me to an article, detailing my past denials, and sprinkled with the photos. From the angles these were taken at, we really did look like we were totally in love. The final picture in the article was the one I dreaded seeing the most. I closed my eyes the second I saw the better angle and the tops of our heads too close together. I felt a large hand place itself gingerly on my knee. Using that as my crutch, I reopened my eyes and scrolled down.

 

If looking at pictures of my best friend holding me really close was weird, looking at us kissing was even weirder. It somehow made sense, though, and not just in the sense of this-is-what-we’re-doing. Something in me _wanted_ to do it again. I’d always figured it was the last bits of my crush-a-holic phase in the past. Now, though, looking at that picture of us seeming so content and lost in the moment, it didn’t seem so much like a childish impulse. Looking at that picture, it seemed to be making sense.

 

I must’ve stared at it for too long because the next thing I knew Russel was sighing loudly.

 

“I knew it.”

 

My eyes forced themselves up again, looking just in time to see my bandmate getting up. The look he had on his face was one I knew too well but hadn’t had directed towards me often. He only had that look when someone was doing something phenomenally stupid.

 

“I don’t like him like that,” I lied a bit too quickly. My thoughts from a second ago weren’t about to let themselves be forgotten, but Russel didn’t need to know about them. He trained his blank eyes on me, still finding a way to convey all his emotions through his eyebrows.

 

“So you _weren’t_ just giving heart eyes to your phone, and if I ask you to be honest with me about your feelings for Ace, you _won’t_ say it’s complicated.”

 

“I…” Damn, twenty years of time together really had made him privy to all my thoughts. I let him leave without saying anything else.

 

I’d never really thought about it before then. It was just, well, normal that we were so close. Our friendship was just one where I let him stay a bit too close to me, and press kisses against the top of my head, and go cuddle with him late at night when I’ve just woken up from a nightmare, and-

 

Okay, so we were really close friends. I’d say like family, but I know what it’s like to make a family member out of a friend, and that’s not what we’re like. Memories of late night chats we’d had when we first started talking floated through my head, leaving behind a smile on my face. No, what we had was different. It was the type of thing where we could whisper any secret to each other and know the other would keep it. Ace could hold me close when I needed it and trust I’d do the same for him. This kind of relationship was unlike anything else I’d ever had. I could even _kiss_ him without anything changing. For half a second, I wondered if he would mind if I did it again. I wondered if he would mind doing it when there wasn’t a chance we’d be caught. My imagination conjured up a vision of kissing him in a bed, with just the two of us around, and no cameras to capture us.

 

I felt guilty for even thinking of that. There’s no way he’d want that, considering we’re just friends. This _thing_ we were doing, it’s just him helping me out. I let out a deep sigh and stood up. Katsu meowed angrily at me as he was thrown to the floor on accident. I’d completely forgotten he was there in the first place. My little darling gave me a glare as he stalked off to go nap on something else that _wouldn’t_ throw him off. A fist came up to tangle itself in my hair. These thoughts I’ve been having, they all started when _this_ did. That must be it. It’s just an effect of the fake dating. I let out a shaky laugh when the truth hit me. _Of course_ , it was just a shock. A temporary bout of gratitude that would fade over time. That was all I was feeling.

 

I let out a mighty yawn. It couldn’t have been that late, but I was exhausted. So, I started going through my usual routine.

 

I didn’t know yet that Ace was standing right outside my door as I thought about all this. And he was staring at the wood, wondering how I would reply to his confession, assuming he could go through with it.

 

And he was stepping away before he could knock. Ace walked back down the hall to his room, holding his secret close to his heart as he closed his own door.

 

* * *

* * *

 

It was entirely 2D’s fault that I had been standing there in the first place. See, I’ve been a fan of these guys since I was like 17, which kinda makes this whole thing a little weird, but that’s besides the point. Of course I kinda froze when he came into my room and plopped his ass on my bed. He lit a cigarette, then took a long drag. He looked at me as he exhaled. I’ve never felt more intimidated by such a hot figure in my life.

 

“So,” he started as his eyes fully fixed on me, “This fake datin’ m’ sister. Ah saw th’ pictures this mornin’. You, really kissed ‘er, huh? Don’t say anyfin’, ‘at wos rhetorical. Ah know y’ kissed ‘er. Tha’ ain’ th’ point, an’ this is awkward now, sorry. Anyways, point is, ah wanna know ‘ow long you intend to keep this up for. Ah wouldn’ ask, ‘cept iss m’ sister an’ ah juss wanna know.”

 

I blinked at him, “The pictures are out? I didn’t know. Damn, those paparazzi work fast.”

 

“Didn’cha get th’ email? From good ol’ Sheral, bless ‘er ‘eart.”

 

“Who the heck is Sheral?”

 

2D sighed and looked down, “No one introduced you to our publicist. Give me a second, you oughta see ‘em ‘fore we talk about any more.”

 

The singer pulled out his phone. I looked around me, feeling awkward as hell. He shoved the device into my face a second later and I was confronted by something that made my heart skip a couple of beats. It was us, me and Noodle, but I had my arm around her and we were starin’ at each other and- man, is that really what I look like when I’m around that girl? Even with my shades on, I could see how lovestruck I was lookin’ in that picture. I really wasn’t focusin’ on me though, as much as it sounds like I was. My eyes were kinda stuck on her. She really was the most extraordinary thing, and this amazing gal was lookin’ at me the exact same way I was lookin’ at her. I’ve never seen her look at anything that way before.

 

“Holy shit,” I whispered as I took the device and started scrolling. There really weren’t a lot of pictures, but what was there was too much for my heart to handle anyways. I’d never realized Noodle looked at me like that. It made me wonder…

 

 _No_ , I told my mind, _She doesn’t feel that way. Respect her choice._

 

All of that flew out the window for a hot second when I saw that last picture. If the others made my heart skip a couple beats, this one made it stop entirely for a solid minute. Noodle… she was so beautiful. Hell, she was even smart enough to tilt her head to account for my long ass nose.

 

“Y’know, ah’ve nevah seen ‘er look that happy. Tha’s a lie, but iss really rare tha’ y’see ‘er be so gentle. Ah love m’ sister an’ everyfin’, but she ain’ too good at being careful.”

 

I’d completely forgotten 2D was still there until he spoke up. He was staring at me with those big, vacant eyes. I couldn’t come up with a single excuse for checking out like that. The singer shook his head as he plucked the device from my hand.

 

“Tha’s what ah thought. You _do_ ‘ave feelin’s for ‘er. Ah don’ blame you, she’s really a looker. She’s soft for you too, ah fink. Iss weird, she’s usually so _tough_. Ah don’ fink ah’ve evah seen her be so sad. Tha’s not t’say you make ‘er sad, you don’t. You juss make her more open about all tha’ crap. It ain’ crap, ah shouldn’a said that. Whatever, you get wha’ ah mean, righ’?”

 

His eyes had wandered around the room a bit as he’d talked, but they came back to me when he finished. I nodded, then shook my head, then groaned.

 

“Ah damn, is it really that obvious? I thought I was bein’ pretty inconspicuous.” I rubbed the back of my neck and let out a sigh. “Yeah, I’ve been crushin’ pretty bad on her since we met. She’s just…”

 

“The best,” he finished for me, smiling a bit for the first time since he’d come in, “Yeah, ah get that. Noodle really is somethin’ special. Tha’s why you oughta tell ‘er ‘bout all that sometime. You understand, yeah?”

 

“Yeah, I get it.”

 

2D nodded one last time and got up. As he was leaving, I leaned back to look at him.

 

“Hey.”

 

The singer stopped in the doorway, resting his hand holding the cigarette a little too close to the wood.

 

“Remember the other day, when you walked in on us an’ thought we were an item? Why’d you act so bitchy?”

 

He shrugged, “She’s m’ little sister. Believe it or not, we tell each other juss about everyfin’. It hurt t’ see you two all cuddled up wiff eachova like that, y’know? Plus, ‘m a little protective of her if you can’ tell. We all are. Iss how we’ve kept ‘er alive this long. ‘M gonna go talk t’ Russ, see ya later.”

 

2D shut the door behind him, leaving me to collapse in my chair. I couldn’t get his words out of my head. They danced around with the memory of those pictures until, finally, I stood up. I didn’t realize where I was going until I was standing outside her door, fist raised. That’s when it hit me.

 

I had no idea how she was gonna react to this. If those pictures were anything to go off of, she’d feel the same way, but she _did_ say she wanted to put on a show for the cameras. What if it wasn’t real? What if she hates me for this? I took a step back, then another. Then, I was going back in my room and shutting the door.

 

I didn’t know yet that Noodle was thinking about me telling her exactly that. And she was glancing at the door every so often, wondering how she would reply to my confession, assuming she could say anything after it.  

 

And she was shaking away those thoughts the best she could. Noodle turned off the light above her bed as soon as she was in it, holding her own secret close to her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey kids, it's sing-along time! Pick a tune and sing with me!  
> ~I write when I'm nervous, I write when I watch movies, this was supposed to be a short chapter with just Noodle's POV, but OOPS I guess it's not~
> 
> Next chapter's a surprise for all of us, me included bc I actually am not sure where I'm taking it from here, don't expect much from me lmao. Bye for now!


	6. Loose Lips Sink Six

I stayed up late that night, and for good reason. At almost exactly two in the morning, my phone screen lit up to signal an incoming call. I only let it ring once before I answered it.

 

“Boss!”

 

As exhausted as I was from the lack of sleep and the previous events of that evening, I couldn’t help but crack a smile, “Aw, hey Billy, I thought you were dead. You know you don’t have to call me boss no more, right? It’s been, what, fourteen, fifteen years since the gang broke up?”

 

My little brother laughed on the other line- gosh, when did this kid’s voice get so deep, he sounded older than I did- and shuffled around audibly, “Yeah, but you won’t ever be nothin’ but Boss to me. How’s Brazil?”

 

“Britain, Billy, and it’s pretty good. Russel’s been swappin’ recipes with me a lot lately. ‘Parently he sends good ones back to his mamma and she’s been lookin’ for some good italian for a while. 2D’s cool, like always, I can’t really crack ‘em though. It’s like his real self’s been locked away or something. I dunno, maybe it’s cause I’m green.”

 

“That don’t make much sense. Just cause you’re green don’t mean you’re bad. You one of the nicest people I ever met. Oh, I saw you on a magazine today! You was gettin’ smooched by Miss Noodle. Snake saw it too, they kept textin’ me about it cause they thought it was funny an’ didn’t wan- uh oh. Forget I said that, Boss, Snake doesn’t think you’re being dumb about your cru- forget that too.”

 

“Now hang on, Snake thinks I‘m bein’ silly ‘bout this? Tell me what they said, Billy, please?”

 

Billy let out a long sigh, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but they thinks you oughta just tell her. Even if she don’t feel the same way, she’s cool! Anyways, you wanta hear about the doggies and kitties I helped today?”

 

A thought passed through my head. For a long second, I considered telling him no, hanging up and calling Snake to demand an explanation for this, time zones be damned. It was such a sweet temptation. Instead, I hummed in agreement and my little brother launched into a discussion of all the animals he’d seen today. I listened carefully, making sure to write down notes about animals he really liked or animals who’d been sick. We hung up an hour later after telling each other hesitant goodbyes. I’d just plugged my phone in and settled down to sleep when it started ringing again, this time paired with a rather obnoxious ringtone. I rolled my eyes as I answered it. The other line started before I could get a single syllable out.

 

“You’re dating Noodle and you didn’t tell me?! I want all the details dude, oh my god, I can’t believe this!”

 

I rubbed at my eyes and glanced at my alarm clock, “Sis, I love you, but it’s three-o-nine in the fuckin’ morning here.”

 

Buttercup huffed at me, “I just learned from a _shitty gossip website_ Bubbles likes that you’re _dating_ Noodle Gorillaz! I don’t care if it’s five minutes until the world ends, you’re telling me everything so I can decide whether to come throttle you or not. Spill it now, Copular, or I’ll let it slip on my twitter that a certain someone used to lick b-”

 

“Fine, fine! We’re still just friends, bu-.”

 

Buttercup burst into laughter, “You’re fucking with me! _Just friends?!_ ”   


“Listen up, toots, or I’ll tell Noodle about the crush you had on her in high school.”

 

“Don’t you dare.”

 

“Then listen up, ‘kay? We’re fake dating, like you an’ Butch did. Same reason, too.”

 

“Okay, so, if you’re doing it like how Butch and I did, why’d you let those pictures go out? And why did Noodle say she wasn’t seeing anyone in that interview the other day? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just, stop denying it and hang out _like friends_ ? Seriously, I don’t get you.”   
  
“We were hangin’ out like friends, BC!” I sighed heavily and pinched my eyebrows. “Look, you don’t gotta believe me, but we did let the pictures go out because _she_ wanted it. I’m just followin’ her orders here. You know how I feel about that girl, and you _know_ I’d do anything for her. This is just a part of that for me, I guess. An' we didn't decide to do it until like three hours after that interview.”

 

My little sis was quiet for a while. Just as I was about to hang up, she finally did one of her little frustrated sighs, “Okay, Copular, if that’s what you wanna leave it at. Just... I think you should tell her soon. Even if she takes it bad, it’ll be better than lying to her about that.”  
  
“I… I was gonna. Tonight. 2D, he came and talked to me for awhile. The guy figured me out. He,” it took me a second to find the right word, “ _convinced_ me it’d be alright. For a little while there, I almost told her. Then I just got to thinkin’ and I got back to the same place I started at. She’s just so fuckin’ special, Buttercup. I don’t wanna tie her down in something she doesn’t want, or make her uncomfortable or anything like that, just ‘cause I got it bad. I’m not that kinda guy anymore, and I like ta think I haven’t been that guy in a long time.”

 

Buttercup laughed on the other side of the line. Then she yawned and told me I was an idiot.   
  
“Right back atcha, kid. Go to bed.”   
  
“Naw, I gotta call Blossom and make sure she’s not doing unpaid overtime again. I swear, if she has another meltdown ‘cause she couldn’t study for a test and got a C on it, the professor’ll bring her back home. I promise to go to bed right after, though. Night, dick.”   
  
“M’kay, tell your sis I said hi. Night.”   


Finally, I was able to put my phone down. I crashed head-first into my bed and was asleep before you could say ‘dumbass’. That night, I had a dream. I can’t even remember it anymore, I just know I woke up feeling like a piece of shit and wanting to go confess to Noodle. A hand came up to rub at my eyes as I looked over at the clock. Five minutes to six.

 

“Fuck…” I whispered as I rolled over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a hot minute! How y'all doin? Good I hope? Are you as excited by the fact that I'm actually updating as I am? Anywho, I needed a chapter of Ace talking to some of his siblings, and I'd be going against my own personal code if I didn't throw Buttersis in there somewhere! 
> 
> Next chapter's gonna be a bit of a time skip forward, so bear with me ~~and watch me drop this fic like I did with Murdoc's a Bad Friend~~


	7. Seven Minutes in Heaven

“Oh my god, you dumbass slut! Kevin, it’s fucking Noodle from Gorillaz!” a voice said louder than they probably wanted behind me. Someone else gasped. I stifled a sigh and turned around to face Kevin and his friend. One of them was focusing an angry look on the other. The former didn’t notice me, but the later saw me and smirked.

 

“Hi, Gorillaz girl. My friend thinks you’re hot.”

 

The other one whipped around and went pale. They began attempting to stutter out a reply. In the meantime, I felt an arm wrap itself around my shoulders. 

 

“Got the stuff Russ wants, babe. Who’re these two?” Ace said to me in a stage whisper. A grin spread across my face as I reached up to grab my fake boyfriend’s hand. “Fans, I’m guessing. I’m flattered, guys, but I’m kinda taken right now. I’d be happy to do autographs, though, if it’s any consolation.”

 

Not-Kevin glared at their friend before turning back to sheepishly smile at me, “That’d be awesome, Miss Noodle. Can we get a selfie too, please, for my insta? I-I’d be sure to tag ya if you want, and it’s cool if you don’t wanna. It’s just not every day you run into a-a, um-”

 

“A super cool superstar,” Kevin finished for them. I stifled my chuckle as I nodded. We took a quick selfie together, I hugged each of them, and then Ace and I got on our way. He frowned at the cigarette I lit almost as soon as the fans were out of sight, but didn’t say a word edgewise. That I was used to by now, but what I wasn’t used to after weeks of this arrangement was him keeping distance between us. I slotted our hands together and pulled him a bit closer. It wasn’t hard to notice the tension put up between us, though, so it was probably a good thing that no one else did a double take on us as we walked home. 

 

Almost as soon as we were inside, Ace pulled away and went into the kitchen. I tried to shrug it off, but some weird feeling that tension had planted followed me to the living room. 2D was playing some fighting game, so I picked up the other controller and flopped onto the other side of the couch. 

 

“Mind if I come in next round?”

 

He shrugged without breaking his eyes from the screen. We sat in silence for a while, playing mindlessly, until finally, my brother paused the game to look at me. My eyebrows scrunched up in pure confusion, “What is it, Stu?”

 

“Ah dunno, you seem like you got somethin’ on your mind. You wanna talk ‘bout it?” he said, sounding as disinterested as could be to an untrained ear. I finally let out the exhausted sigh that’d been building itself up in me since I’d been recognized. 

 

“Yeah, that would be nice. I just... Has Ace seemed weird to you recently?”

 

2D unpaused the game with another shrug, “Weird ‘ow? ‘Cause ‘e’s a real funny guy ah fink. Not funny in a ‘ha-ha’ sense, funny like ‘e’s got something goin’ on.”

 

“Like he’s been kinda distant to me since that article dropped. He’s not coming in my room anymore, even when I invite him in, like he won’t let us be alone together anymore,” I told him as my character kicked his character’s ass, “And I’ve noticed that he’s been looking at me when he thinks I’m not looking.”

 

2D hummed and unleashed a vicious combo attack on me, taking out half of my character’s remaining health, “Yeah, tha’s pretty weird. Have ya talked to ‘im about this?”

 

“No, I can’t get him alone to talk about it. I don’t know, maybe this arrangement is making him feel a little weird. It’s making me feel kinda weird too. Russel thinks-” I cut myself off. After my conversation with Russel when I’d seen the pictures, he’d dropped the subject entirely. Russel had seemed to accept that we weren’t doing anything of the sort, though he still side-eyed me when Ace was getting a little close. My brother once again unleashed a barrage of attacks on the screen, though none of it hit my character. 

 

“What was that? Russel thinks somethin’s up wiff you two? Like, you like ‘im or something?”

 

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the skipping of my heart, “Yeah, exactly. Isn’t it odd?”

 

“If you don’t like him, yeah definitely.”

 

“I don’t. Like him in  _ that _ way, I mean. He’s just a friend.” That almost felt like a total lie. I bit the inside of my cheek. Hard. The feeling died, but I could still feel its spirit floating around my mind. 

 

“M’kay, if you say so,” 2D sighed. His character finally killed mine on screen and the screen displayed a message telling us he’d won. My brother set down his controller with a sigh and stood up, “Long as you two keep your shit together, it ain’t none of my business. Jus’ don’ go fallin’ for ‘im if you wanna keep it casual, sis.”

 

As he walked out, the devil we’d spoken of came in. I could feel him looking at me and hear his feet stopping in their tracks, then quickly attempting to backpedal out of the room. 

 

Looking back, I could’ve avoided what came next by just letting him go. We would’ve kept up our ploy for a while longer, then we’d’ve staged our breakup and be able to let all this go. Maybe those feelings would’ve faded and years later we’d finally confess to each other and have a good laugh over it like old friends. Even then, I could see that exact scenario in my head. A part of me even wanted exactly that to happen. Something else was shouting louder, though, pushing the one word that changed us out of my throat. 

 

“Wait.”

 

Ace stopped in his tracks. That same screaming something must’ve been in his head, too, because he came over to me and sat down right next to me. At this point, we didn’t have much space keeping us apart, but what space was there was filled with a thick anticipation. We both took deep breaths as we made eye contact. I must’ve blacked out for a second right then, because the next thing I knew, I was cradling his face and kissing him. He had one hand burying itself in my hair and one resting between my shoulder blades and he was kissing me back. It wasn’t for any cameras at all, just a kiss for the two of us, which somehow made it feel so much better than our first kiss. We broke apart for heavy breaths that turned to quiet laughter when we made eye contact. And then we were kissing again and I was pulled into his lap and pressing him into the back of the couch.

 

When we broke apart the second time, a thought occurred to me that made me burst into louder giggles. 

 

“Hey, what is it, baby?” he whispered to my cheek, sending chills down my spine. I moved back a bit to look at him and whispered, “Literally goddamn  _ everyone _ knew but us, and now they all think we’re fake dating and won’t ever get together. We can never tell any of them.”

 

Ace took a second, then laughed, “Aw fuck, you’re right. We’re goddamn idiots.”

 

“Yes, we are.” I moved back forward to whisper against his lips, “But we’re each other’s idiots.”

 

“Supper’s ready!” Russel called out just before we could kiss again. I sighed and moved back over to my original seat. Ace got up nearly as soon as I was out of his lap, coughing awkwardly. 

 

“Yeah, like he said.” he offered me a hand up.

 

I couldn’t help bursting into guffaws as I gratefully took it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, there it is y'all. There's still more content coming, though, so don't think I'm wrapping it up just yet ;) There's still a few more chapters 
> 
> Next chapter's gonna be another surprise to all of us, myself included lol


	8. Eight Hours

Russel was already at the table by the time Ace and I got into the kitchen. I went to sit by him, but 2D just barely slipped into that chair before me. He stuck his tongue out as I flicked the back of his head on the way to my new seat next to my… we still needed to have that talk, didn’t we? Whatever, I sat down next to Ace and immediately dug in. It gave me a chance to see how… my other, I guess, how he was gonna be acting from now on. 

 

“So, Ace,” Russel started, “My ma’s been asking questions about you. Made me realize I don’t really know ya, not like Muds or Noodle know you, at least. Tell me about yourself.”

 

The bassist set the fork down gently and laughed nervously, “Oh, uh, there ain’ much ta tell that the world doesn’ already know. I grew up on the streets with my boys. We all left town eventually- there’s only so much a guy can take of having an entire city hate ‘em ‘fore they just gotta, well, go, y’know? I ended up in Cali, playin’ bass every night for this bar, an’ doin’ some shady stuff I ain’t too proud of under the table ta pay the bills. Eventually, ol’ Doc introduced me to this lady over here an’ ‘bout a year later, she called me out here. I, uh, think youse guys know what happened next.”

 

“‘Ow do you know Murdoc anyways?” 2D blurted out. Both Russel and I shot him glares. The singer held up his hands in defense, “Wot? We’ve all been wonderin’!”

 

“No, it’s cool, guys. Youse… you got the right to know, y’know?” my… smooch buddy (no, damn we need that talk) said nervously. He took a sip of his drink before sighing heavily. 

 

“He… he knew my pops, way back when. My father’s dead now, has been for a good while, but ‘Doc always kept tabs on me for some reason or another, I dunno. First time I heard from him in… hell, it must’ve been years, he called me up ‘bout a month ‘fore he introduced me to this beauty.”

 

I rolled my eyes into November, “I’ll kill you with your own nose, Pinocchio.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t doubt it, babe.”

 

Russel chuckled softly at our shenanigans. He was cut off about halfway through by 2D slamming his fork down, “Wait, wot day is it? Aw fuckin’ tits, it’s Tuesday ain’ it? I gotta go, uh,  _ talk _ to an old pal.”

 

He rushed out without another word. Ace looked around the table as us other two continued with our meals. 

 

“Should… should someone go tell him it’s Friday?”

 

Our drummer finished his meal and got up with a sigh. He kissed my head on his way out, shutting the door 2D had left wide open. I wiped my mouth before looking at the only boy left stand- er, sitting. Ace was eating rather quickly. 

 

“We need to talk.”

 

He sighed and dropped his fork in favor of grabbing my hand, “That’s just what I was thinkin’. We shouldn’t now, though, 2D couldn’a gotten too far.”

 

I stood up, pulling him along behind me. He followed like an obedient puppy into my room. The only time he said something was when I shut the door behind us. 

 

“Uh, baby, maybe don’t shut it if we’re just talkin’? They might think we’re, uh-”

 

“No, they won’t. They learned to stop questioning the shit that happens in my room years ago. As long as we’re in here, they’re not gonna ask questions.” I pulled out a few chairs for us and took a seat. As soon as he was seated across from me, I jumped into the thick of it, “Okay, so I really like you. I thought it was just like you’re my best friend, but it’s not like that anymore. I… I wanna try this out. But the others can’t know.”

 

“Yeah, I feel the same way. I’ve been kinda lost over you this entire time, Noodle. My boys know about that part, but I don’t wanna tell ‘em about this part. At least, not for a while.”   
  


“I know, I get it. I just want this to be you and me for right now, at least until we figure out how to tell everyone else that they were right. I just… I really like you, Ace, and I have no idea what to do next. It’s been a while since I’ve felt something like this.”

 

He reached out for my hands without hesitating, “Yeah, I get it. I promise not to tell  _ anyone _ , baby.”

 

I smiled and rubbed his hand with my thumb. It was weird knowing I didn’t have to question him. God, this idiot had gotten me good. Even if he’d pulled back and laughed at me for falling so easily, I might’ve let it slide. Whatever this feeling was, it was turning me into a fool fast. I even tripped over my next question a bit. 

 

“Wha- uh, what are we now? I don’t mean to rush you or anything, but I…” I trailed off. The only explanation I could give for this question was embarrassing. Ace seemed to get it, though. He leaned forward just a bit more to press our foreheads together, forcing me to look him in the eye. Goddamn, he had really nice eyes under those shades of his. 

 

“I was kinda thinkin’ I could be your fella if you’ll have me.”

 

At this point, how could I say no? I tilted my head up more to kiss him. Instead, I got my nose poked by his own. Ace pulled back, obviously embarrassed, but he looked so cute I couldn’t help bursting into giggles. I withdrew back into my seat feeling drunk on bliss. When I opened my eyes, my  _ boyfriend _ had the dopiest smile plastered on his face and he was holding my hand tightly. 

 

“What?” I purred softly. Ace drew me back to him by the hand, wrapping his other arm around me. At this new angle, if I tilted my head up at all or he stooped down just a little bit, I would be able to kiss him. He stayed suspended in place though. I let out one last breathy chuckle as I reached up. Ace held his breath the second my fingertips started tracing the outline of his jaw. My hand in his felt constricted for an instant. I squeezed back just as hard and curled my fingers, guiding his head down to mine. My heart’s loud thumping- or maybe his, it was hard to tell where what was Ace ended and what was me began at that moment- beat against my eardrums. 

 

And then someone knocked at the door. We moved away from each other again, each of us holding back frustrated sighs. I pulled my hand away from his face, but kept our hands locked together as I called out to whoever had ruined our moment. “I’m a little busy right now! Come back later, okay?”

 

“Do you know where Ace is? He left his phone downstairs and someone’s been texting him.”

 

My partner sighed and stood up, subsequently letting go of my hand. If I trailed after him a bit, neither of us said anything to each other. I pushed the chair away more as my free hand pulled my own device out. By the time the door was open, there was no sign of what we’d been just a hair’s length away from doing. I kept my full focus trained on my phone until whoever it was- what, you think I  _ want  _ to know who cockblocked me- finally left. Ace let out a heavy sigh as I looked up at him. 

 

“I gotta take this, babe. But, hey, we should totally go to that movie Monday, eh? My treat. It could be another of those  _ dates _ .” He pinned a wink onto the end of his sentence. I hummed my approval as I tapped at my screen a bit more, “Yeah, Monday at seven. I’ll get an Uber for us, just meet me outside then.”

 

I heard him start to walk away after a beat or two, but I called after him as he left, “Oh, and I think I left those old sheets in your room the other day. Would you mind if I came over later to look for them?”

 

His footsteps paused for just a split second as he threw a confirmation over his shoulder. That coupled with the ghost of our moment were what sent me quietly slipping into his room about half an hour later. We didn’t do nearly as much talking this time, but I did wake up the next morning in Ace’s arms feeling far better than I had in ages. His phone was sitting right next to my face, screen illuminating with an old text notification. As the situation dawned on me, curiosity came with it to kill me. I glanced over at my boyfriend as I grabbed his device. He slept like the dead. And he hadn’t set any kind of password or pin or anything for his phone. 

 

Unlocking it was like second nature. I didn’t recognize anything about the message itself; really it just seemed like something sent by a machine or algorithm or whatever. But I knew the number. It’d been used by the same man since he’d been locked up months ago. It had me stopped dead in my tracks for a moment. Then I furiously scrolled up. Messages sent faking his identity, pictures of a person I didn’t recognize, another set of automated texts, and then that style of speech I knew too well from roughly twenty years of experience. I let out a shaky laugh because of course this was happening.

  
Ace was texting with Murdoc. The big question popping up in my mind was, why? Why would Ace talk to and  _ help _ someone he barely knew? Was he even telling the truth about his deal with my dad? As I set the device back and cuddled into my spot again, this time facing away from the bright screen, it dawned on me that our honeymoon period for this relationship was officially over.  Damn. I was hoping it would’ve lasted longer than eight hours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, this is what happens when a fic writer has an idea and then fuels that idea with a **lot** of caffeine, kiddos. They actually _write_. Btw, there is a definite progression of time here! This one takes place in August, at the same time as the second chat, which if I'm not mistaken is the one where we get the map. Let me know if I got that wrong, I can't remember squat about the second chat
> 
> As for that last bit, well, we're switching over to Ace's point of view for next chapter to clear things up a little bit. Stay tuned ;}


	9. Nine in the Morning

She snuck over at about eight thirty to be with me. Now, the way that sounds, it probably seems like we did the dirty, but I’m not one of those guys. This was just hours after our first ever real kiss that we shared just for our sake. I wasn’t about to mess it up by doin’ something neither of us were really ready for. 

 

No, we didn’t do anything big like that. She did come over, though, and we did fall asleep together. I didn’t really even say anything to her. I just opened my arms and she curled up in ‘em like that’s where she always wanted to be. God, I’d never cuddled with someone so much smaller than me before. She just fit so nicely, and this girl had the top of her head tucked right until my chin. I could practically smell that weird, expensive fucking avocado shampoo she used. Do avocados even have a smell? I guess they did, ‘cause I could certainly smell something nice right under my nose. I tiled my head downwards to put my nose in it a bit, just to get a better whiff. Noodle laughed as I inhaled the scent… was that coconut? Huh, guess it’s not her weird shampoo after all. 

 

“What are you doing, weirdo?” she whispered. I shrugged, then started talkin’ when I realized she probably couldn’t see it. 

 

“ I dunno. Your hair smells good, baby.”

 

This fuckin’ angel of a lady shook a little bit with these quiet giggles, and, god I swear, my heart skipped a couple of beats. I guess neither of us really felt like we had to say much after that, though. For a while, we just sat there, holdin’ each other as we studied the ceiling together. At some point, her hand ran into mine, but instead of moving it away, her quick fingers started ghosting themselves over my palm. The gentle touch skated across my fingertips before running down into the center of my palm, then traced themselves around before scooting back up along my thumb. Over and over, it sent stifled yawns out my mouth, until my eyelids couldn’t stay open much longer. The last thing from that night I remembered was her hand slowly coming to a stop as her breathing became steady and unbreaking. 

 

When I woke up, she wasn’t in my arms anymore. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a jolt of panic zip through me for half a second. That is, until I felt a shift on the left side of the bed. My eyes slipped closed again but shot right back open when I heard her curse under her breath. It took me a few more seconds to realize she was on the left side, where the end table was. The end table I set my phone down on so it could charge every night. The same phone I hadn’t put a password on yet (mostly ‘cause I just couldn’t figure it out). I ain’t too smart of a fella, but even I could put two and two together.

 

There goes the honeymoon part of this relationship. Eh, maybe we could revisit this later on, if we survived past her discovery. I stayed where I was, waiting for her to notice my new awareness and start the questions. Even though I’d just woken up, I was still pretty tired, so I thought it’d be nice to rest my eyes for a few moments, at least until she started asking questions. 

 

She didn’t ask questions, though. Noodle set my phone back down and carefully tucked herself right back into the crook of my arm. Hell, she even moved her head so her ear was sitting right above my heart. I couldn’t move. Not without letting her know I was awake. 

 

My mind temporarily humored the thought of not moving, settling back down and pretending that hadn’t happened. I could act like she didn’t know about my talkin’ with her dad. We could just focus on being happy together for a bit longer, go on that date I’d suggested last night. Let the world know about us as a good couple. The temptation floated away when I started thinking about what would have to happen if I did that. We’d still have to talk about the people I choose to talk too. I’d still have to explain to her why I’m trying to help break out her father. Worst of all on that path, though, I’d have to keep the fact that I knew about her knowing a secret or we wouldn’t have a chance. 

 

There was just no way I could say still. I let out a big sigh and squeezed her. 

 

“Hey.”

 

Noodle stiffened up in my arms, tightening her grip on my shirt. She sighed too as she let go, then sat up, just out of my reach. I followed her lead without touching her, keeping my hands in my lap. I was almost surprised to hear her first words weren’t a question. 

 

“You don’t know what you’re doing. He’s using you.”

 

So that was how she was rationalizing this out. I shook my head, “I know exactly what I’m doing. It ain’t the first time I’ve broken a guy outta prison. He’s a manipulative dick, but I ain’t that stupid.”

 

I could hear her turning towards me. Noodle stared for a minute before her slightly wavering voice asked, “Then why?”

 

“I’m… I’m not sure. I guess it’s kinda for you.”

 

“I don’t want him,” she said just a bit too quickly. The anger in her voice dripped like venom. I didn’t have to look to know she was shakin’ a bit.

 

“So you’re just gonna let ‘em rot behind bars?”   
  


“He’s done better to us by being there than he ever has being with us. 2D’s better every day, and…” she shuffled closer to learn her head against my shoulder, “I got to meet you.”

 

“2D’s not better, Noodle. I barely know the guy and I can tell. And I like you a lot, but you can’t replace your dad.”

 

“He’s not my father. And even if he was I still wouldn’t want him.” her voice was building in volume as it began shaking. “That man ruins everything, he tried to kill me, and,  _ oh yeah _ , he fucking built a murder bot version of me! Fuck, he’s ruining this thing we have and he’s not even here. We can’t just let him back into our lives, Ace.”

 

“But you want to.”

 

She went completely silent. Then, in a much lower voice, she grumbled, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

That was it. As much as I didn’t want to get mad at her, I couldn’t stop myself from nearly shouting in my anger. 

 

“Yes, I fucking do! My dad left me to fend for myself when I was six years old! I was livin’ in a dump before I was ten. I’m stuck missing my dad every goddamn day of my life. If I got the chance to have him back, I would take it in a heartbeat. And there’s your dad just sitting in prison, wanting to be in your life and take care of you, and you’re so fucking stubborn you can’t see it! He cares about you so much that he’d probably be willing to change if you just  _ talked to him _ and you just wanna throw that away! He’s a shitstain, and he’s made some unforgivable mistakes, but he’s your goddamn father, Noodle.” I further hid my eyes behind my hair as I let out a huge sigh and continued on, “I don’t like the guy much either. But for you? I’d do just about anything if I thought it would make you happy. What’ll make you happy right now is getting him back, and I’m gonna do whatever I can to make that happen.”

 

Somewhere in my rant, she’d pulled away. I looked back a bit and caught her piercing eyes. There was some kind of softness, though, like an unspoken thing. Noodle reached out until her fingertips just barely touched my cheek. I relaxed into her touch as they curled along my skin. It brushed under my ear, her other hand coming up to hold my other cheek. 

 

“Ace Copular, you have got to be the sweetest and stupidest man I’ve ever met in life. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m not giving up on you yet.”

 

“Aw fuck, Noodle, are you sure?” 

 

“If I wasn’t, I would already be gone.”

 

She leaned forward to kiss my forehead. From where I positioned, I was able to tuck my head under her chin and wrap my arms around her waist. The hand on my cheek brushed up through my hair. I could hear her voice coming from her chest when she next spoke. 

 

“So, this isn’t the first time you’ve broken someone’s dad out of prison?”

 

I let out a breathy laugh at the memory, “Arturo’s dad was accused of something a long time ago. I helped ‘em get out of jail and escape the country. It’s probably the most illegal thing I’ve ever done.”

 

Her hum vibrated through my head. I glanced over at my alarm clock for the first time that morning. It was barely nine in the morning.

 

“Fucking shit, you wanna go get breakfast?”

 

“Hell yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just straight up lied in the notes of last chapter, let's get that out of the way right now. Anyways, this chapter. This goddamn chapter gave me so much trouble until like half past six yesterday afternoon. And then it all clicked. What I'm saying here is fuck inspiration. 
> 
> Next chapter's another surprise, man. Like that's shocking to anyone. Later peeps


	10. Ten Minute Call

“Noodle, someone’s callin’ you!” 2D called from the kitchen. I sighed and bookmarked my book. My boyfriend, who I’d been leaning against, didn’t look up from his phone as I got up. He did smile, though, when I dropped a kiss on his forehead before going to retrieve my device. The second I saw that number, my fluttering heart dropped into my stomach.

“Somefin’ up?”

“No, it’s alright.”

Though I longed to drop the call, go back to Ace, do anything else, I took it outside and answered. The formal part, before I could connect with him, that rushed by far too quickly for my taste. After a few minutes of being on hold, I heard his all-too-familiar voice in my ear.

“Hey, luv. Nice of you to pick up for a change.”

“What do you want, Murdoc?”

He let out a low chuckle. Was his voice raspier than usual or was it just me?

“I need a favor.”

“Whatever it is, no. I told you I’m not going to be keeping your nose clean for you anymore.”

“Please, Noodle, this could be life or death.”

I scoffed, “A few more months in jail won’t kill you.”

“Not for me. For 2D.”

My heart stopped dead in its tracks. I held the phone tighter against my ear, “What do you fucking mean, you bastard?”

“Ain’t he been acting,” the pause he put there was purely devilish, “off lately? I can fix that if you’ll help me.”

No reply dared to escape my lips. The silence stretched on, ten, thirty, fifty seconds, a minute, and finally, Murdoc sighed. Before he could say another word, I cut back in.

“Okay. Tell me what to do.”

Though he sounded delighted on the surface, there was underlying exhaustion in his voice, like he hadn’t slept in ten years. I suppose that wasn’t entirely false, knowing what he’s been through.

“I’m glad to hear you’re on board. In ten minutes, give or take, you’ll be added to a chat. I need you to talk to the other person in it. They’ll give you coordinates to El Mierda’s hiding spot, and… well, you’ll know what to do from there. Be careful, though, luv, he’s incredibly dangerous, and I don’t wanna be staging a jailbreak to rescue you from his evil clutches.”

“Yeah, alright. I’m on it.”

I hung up right after that. Though panic was encircling all my thoughts, I went back inside and sat down next to Ace. He was completely focused on his phone now; he didn’t even look up when I draped my legs over his lap and laid down in the other direction. The person Murdoc had been talking it about, it had to be him, right? Ace was in contact with Murdoc, I’d found that out weeks ago, so he had to be the mysterious person that bastard bassist told me about. It only took a few minutes of contemplation for me to feel my phone buzz. I opened up the oh-so-mysterious chat and sent my first message. One text in response was all I needed to confirm my suspicions. For a moment, I almost said something. Then 2D came into the room carrying a not-burned piece of toast and sat normally in a nearby chair and flipped away from the zombie movie that had been playing on the television.

I sent another text wordlessly. All in all, the conversation only took six minutes. As soon as it was done, Ace stood up and he looked at me. I ignored his gaze.

The front door opened without warning, signaling Russel’s return. My boyfriend went to him and I felt so much emptier without him there.

Uh oh.

“Noodle?” my brother’s oddly calm voice called out. I hummed in reply, since obviously my words couldn’t be trusted at this particular moment.

“Do you know when, uh, when he gets out of prison?”

I was silent for a good minute, then quietly I replied, “I don’t know.”

2D let that hang in the air for just a minute before he snarled, just as quietly, “I hope he rots in there. He fucking earned it.”

Though that anger was completely earned, it surprised me. A lump caught itself in my throat as the answer to this automatically came to me. Fuck, I hated it. Something akin to annoyance and shame sat right next to the glowing red wrath that tried so hard to smother a secret sense of longing I could never fully give up. And above all of that, I knew what I wanted more than anything. I wanted to travel back twenty years, stop a large box from reaching the haunted mansion on that hill, stop myself from ever having to deal with such a big mess at such a young age.

2D left me to spoil myself with all these feelings that pounded at the cracks in my head. God, I really needed to book an appointment with my therapist before I left for Patagonia.

At this point, I was just hoping my big brother would forgive me for what I had to do. He had to know all of this was for his sake. Just in case Murdoc was right. I got onto my phone again and booked my flight. There would be no going back for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahaha I wrote this a week ago and didn't post it bc the next chapter wasn't done yet, I'm the worst! Short chapter, I know, but I'm trying to move it on into them getting separated. Hopefully they don't end up fighting right about Noodle has to go on a potentially deadly trip! 
> 
> See y'all next time with a tearful goodbye ;)


	11. Eleven Ways to Say Goodbye

I woke up to a head of dark hair shoved right in my face, my left arm feeling numb as shit, and the most beautifully loud snore. So loud in fact, I was almost afraid it’d wake up the others. I pulled away and kissed his cheek, “Babe, wake up.”

 

“Five more minutes,” Ace sleepily said before settling back down. As much as I wanted to pull away or try again to wake him up, something in me chose to settle back down with a laugh and another kiss to his head. I could feel the warmth coming off his grin. We pulled each other closer to find… I don’t know, something real? More of that heat I always get around him? Something I won’t dare name? 

 

Ace rolled over in my arms until he was on top of me and our faces were so, so close. I could smell his nasty morning breath on my face. 

 

“Gross,” I murmured without moving away. His chuckle was wonderful, and the kiss that followed it shooed away whatever was compelling me to get up. The only thing that could wake me up now was the end of the world, and even then I don’t think that’d do the job. 

 

I whined as he pulled away, and listened to the pop of his back with a frown on my face. 

 

“Now who’s the lazy one? C’mon, babe, you gotta catch ya plane today.”

 

Oh right. I shuffled my way to the other side of the bed, stretched as much as I dared, and opened my eyes. His room again- it was the last chance I’d have to sleep in a bed until I got back home. Ace startle me by wrapping his arms around me from behind. His nose poked at my back, but I didn’t want to risk losing this embrace by telling him. Mumbled words sent tingles down my spine. For the life of me, though, I had no idea what he’d said. 

 

“What was that?”

 

Ace pulled back a bit and for a second, I was scared he’d let go. Then he got even closer to whisper in my ear. 

 

“I don’t want you to go.”

 

“He’s my dad, Ace. I have to. What happened to ‘you can’t replace him’?”

 

“What happened is you took my damn advice,” he said with an audible smile, “Since when have I been smart? I only gots a day of preschool under my belt.”

 

“Me neither. The only education I ever got was from library books and shady government officials.”

 

We both fell into a happy silence. I thought for half a second about canceling that flight and crawling back under the covers to be with him. But we both knew I couldn’t do that. Ace let me go with a kiss to my ear. 

 

“I’m gonna miss you, Noodle. So fuckin’ much. Please be careful out there.”

 

I couldn’t find anything to say, so I just nodded and left the room. 2D was out in the hall, weirdly enough, but I avoided his eyes and got back to my room. 

 

He didn’t know about this trip I was taking. God, only Ace and Murdoc knew. As I got dressed and did a final checklist on my bag, I thought of ways I could tell the other two. In the back of my mind, something said I should break the other big news before I got too deep in this relationship. I could just get it over with now, let them figure out what to say while I’m gone, use their initial reactions to help me figure out how I’ll tell Murdoc I’m dating his replacement. 

 

Or maybe I should just sneak out like I’d planned, put off saying anything to any of them until we’re all together again. 

 

God, I’m bad at this. 

 

I walked downstairs with my backpack strapped on tight. The car should be waiting by the time I get outside. I peeked into the kitchen to see 2D and Russel standing side by side and facing away from me. This was my chance. 

 

But I couldn’t. 

 

The sound of my boots hitting tile announced my entry for me. My boys turned around simultaneously, in a way I’d find funny if shit weren’t so serious right now. 2D was the first to react, for once. 

 

“Wot th’ fuck?”

 

It was a simple statement that made me smile and my fears hop down my throat. It’d be okay. I just needed to tell them. 

 

“Morning guys. I, uh, I’m gonna be gone for a little bit, so don’t wait up for me.”

 

Russel crossed his arms at me, “It looks like you’re planning on being gone for longer than a little bit, baby girl.”

 

Oh god, I should’ve just left. “I’m going to South America to find El Mierda and tell him to cut the shit. We can’t keep Murdoc behind bars forever. I think it’s time to bring him home.”

 

It was like I’d set off a bomb in the kitchen. 2D’s loud protests tripped over each other as he seemed to just break. Fuck, I should’ve just snuck out. I was getting ready to just run when I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard a New York accent in my ears. 

 

“She’s right, ‘D. Muds ain’t the best of fellas and he definitely could use a bit’a therapy. Ain’t nobody gonna deny that. But, fuckin’, he’s got potential. He’s how I met this pretty lady in th’ first place, an’ he’s the entire reason I’m here right now. Hell, he freely admits he’s been a shit bandmate and a shit dad. Noodle’s a smart cookie. She wouldn’t be helpin’ him if she didn’t think it would help the band. Give her a chance to go after the guy, and if he ain’t worth bringin’ home, she can just bring up one of the dozen crimes he’s committed against you guys in the past two years or so an’ get him locked up again or something like that, I dunno. Just give her a chance.”

 

I could barely keep from kissing that man senseless right then and there. His little speech sent our singer back against the counter. Gently, 2D nodded at us. Russel gave me a long look before he nodded too. I hiked my backpack up and smiled at my three boys. 

 

“Then I’ll see you guys in a while. I love you, all of you.”

 

I glanced one last time at Ace, and then I left. I didn’t know about the cats I’d meet on my journey, or the yak, or the frozen dad, but I knew what the first thing I’d do when I got back would be. 

 

I was gonna kiss the life out of Ace and tell the rest of the band the truth about our relationship. We couldn’t hide it anymore. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we all dead from the hiatus yet or what?   
> Real quick, I am gonna be a lot less active in the Gorillaz fandom for the next few months due to the hiatus, but if any of y'all are TAZ fans & wanna see my shitty writing for that, I'm currently working on an untitled modern AU for the Balance arc that I'll probably start posting for in a few weeks tops, so keep an eye on my page for that. 
> 
> That's all for now, the next update will probably take a few months, so I'll talk to y'all then <3

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, come talk to me on Tumblr (@grlz-babe) or leave a kudos/comment!
> 
> Have a great day and stay safe y'all!


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